Process of making rail-joint bars.



B.' WOLHAUPTER. S PROCESS OF MAKING RAIL JOINT BARS.

APPLIGATIONIILED AUG. 15, 1912.

- Patented Jan.6,1914.

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INVENTOR WITNESSES B. w AUP-TER. PROCESS ,OF M RAIL JOINT BARS.

' ILED AUG.15 1912 Patented Jan. 6, 19m

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:enmsnm wonnaur'rnn, on NEW nocrrnnpn, NEW rear, nears-non TO THE main JOINT COMPANY, or NEW YORK, N. Y., a concussion or new YORK.

Sirebiflcatidn of Zett'e'rs I'Ment.

Patenteu than. it, 3914.

Application filed August 15, 1912. Serial No. 715,246.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN WOL- mxur'rnaa citizen of the-United States, residing at New Rochelle, in the county of Vestchester and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Rail-Joint Bars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process of manufacturing rail joint bars of the continuous type, that is of the type having a main angle-bar splice member fitting the fishing spaces and flanges of the rails, and a base sectionformed integral with said splice member and constituting a rail seat and support.

The main object of the invention is to provide a simple and ractica-l method of manufacturing these joint bars, whereby they can be produced rapidly, accurately, and economically without complication, and by the use of any suitable mechanical appliances or inst-rumentalities that may be available for, or adapted to, the purpose.

.A special object of the invention is to provides process which possesses certain practical advantages over processes that are now in use for making rail joint bars of the continuous type, and which also provides for the development of the bar, into such form as to leave, within th'e bar, a well defined clearance forthe rail flange, not only at and beyond the extreme outer edge thereof, but

also above the upper outer portion of the rail base flange, thereby contributing materially to the flexibility and resiliency of the joint bars about the rail flanges so that the same will readily adjust and adapt itself to and upon the rail flanges.

While including a novel series of manipulations to secure the special rail-flange-clearance above referred to, the present invention also distinguishes quite radically from the lmown processes of making rail joint bars, of the continuous ty 4 ,in the feature of first rolling the bar wlth the rail-supporting base section at right angles to the perpendicular plane of the splice member, or substantiallparallel to, but at a distance from, its required final rail-seating position, thus leaving a la'rgeand spacious rail flange-receiving recess that is of greater depth vertically than the thickness of the rail flange. This particular section admits of the desirable arsd advantageolm useef a heavy-and substantial tongue in the rolls, and also pernits shear knives to be em'pioyed for shearngthe bar clean at the end. Thereafter,

"preferably while cold, the rail-supporting base member is pressed to its final rail-seatmg position, and this same step is also utilized to deform the foot flange portion of the joint bar in such manner as to secure an ample and well defined topples-rance for the rail flange above the upper por tion thereof at, and adjacent to, its outer edge, as well as beyond its outer edge. This pressing of the rail supporting base member to its final positien takes care of any inequalities in the foot portion oi the bar'from rolling. It will thus be noted that the new process, according to the presentinvention,

does not require sawing and .the special punches and grinding apparatus as employed in other processes. I ht supplies a method which shears the ends of tmbar in a very clean and economical manner, and at the same time provides, in the first pressing, for the taking care of any inequalities. produced by roll wear.

While various instrumentalities may be various alterations made in the precise manner of handling the bar during the course of its development without departingf-rom the invention, one of the ways in which the process may be carried out in a practical manner is suggested drawings, in which Figural is a sectional elevation of a pair in the accompanying utilized in carrying out this invention and of rolls of a rolling mill, illustrating the roll also to force the foot flange of the bar upwardly to provide the to clearance space for the nu flange at an above the outer edge portion'thereof. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the joint bar having its final form as imparted thereto by the pressing step. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a rail joint embodying joint bars of the design. produced by the present process, the view showing one of the joint bars removed to expose the continuous and uniform rail seat and support. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the said rail joint including the modified continuous bars as made by the process claimed herein, and showing by fulland dotted lines, respectively, the movement to which the whole lower portion of the joint bar, below the upright splice member thereof, is subjected to bring the base section or plate to a rail seating position and to force the foot flange of the bar upwardly to provide lateral and'top. clearance for the rail flange.

Like references designate corresponding arts in the several figures of the drawings. The billet or bar blankis first subjected to the action of a series of roll passesof known form, which deliver from the final set of passes a bar having a pronounced change in the conventional section, such change being a much greater vertical depth of the rail flange receiving recess. That is to say, the

series of roll passes secures the progressive distribution and reduction of the metal, and

the gradual shaping of the bar, until it reaches a form substantially that'of its final shape, but possessingin this form, no seat or support for the rails. The rolled form of the bar referred-to is shown in section incelving recess e, between said base section and the inclined foot flange of the bar, the said recess 6 bein of considerably greater depth vertically t an the thickness of the rail flange. Accordingly, it will be observed that below the foot flange b, the joint bar is formed with a bottom portion that includes therail seating member 03, and may also in-' clude a toe member or spiking foot 0.

In explanation of the rolling step that produces the-design and cross section of the bar shown in Fig. 1 of the drawin s, it will be observed that a pair of finishmg rolls,

designated A and B respectivel are designed and constructed to provi e between them a pass P corresponding inshape to the eneral cross sectional appearance of a rail oint bar of the continuous type, but moditied to the extent of having a large and substantial tongue 2! to the roll A which gives final area to the large and spacious rail flange-receiving recess 6 of the rolled bar. The next step in the process is to cut the rolled 'bar 'into rail joint lengths. This is accomplished by a shearing operation which leaves the ends of the bar free from fins and burs, so that no further finishing operation thereon is required or necessary. Any suit- .able shearing means may be employed for carrying out the shearing step of the process, as for instance by suitably operated shearing knife members 1 and 2 having cutting edges conforming to'the cross sectional contour of the rolled bar. As shown in Fig. 2

the knife member 2 may constitute the,

ledger blade, and the knife member 1 the movable blade. The rail flange recess e be ing large, a-la'rge an'd strong knife tongue 6 can be made in the shear blade 2 which will not be liable to break when being operated.

After the shearing of the barintorail joint lengths, the joint bar is subjected to a final shaping pressure to bring the base section to a rail seating position, and to define the rail flange clearance above mentioned. This may be accomplished in various ,ways, but for illustrative purposes one method is suggested in Fig. 3 of the drawings. In this figure of the drawings, the rolled bar is,

shown as being placed in a die press which includes an anvil-base 3 having a movable clamping member 4;, and a vertically movable presser head 5 operating above both the anvil-base and the said clamping member. These parts are so constructed and arranged as to admit of a bodily movement of the entire lower portion of the joint bar below the junction of the foot flange b with the upright splice member (1, whereby .the base sec-- tion at may be pressed into a rail seating'or rail engaging position and thefoot flange b deformed to provide atop clearance for the rail flange above the outer portion'thereof. That is to say, in utilizing anapparatus of the kind shown in Fig. 3 toaccomplish these results, the anvil-base 3 maybe provided atv the upper side thereof with a die groove or depression 6, the bottom of which underlies and is spaced a material or appreciable distance below, both the foot flange b and the toe member or s iking foot 0 of the joint bar when the latter is placed in they press. Also when the joint bar length is first placed in the press and clamped therein, as shown in 'Fig. 3 of the drawings, the base section 01 thereof occupies a parallel spaced relation with reference to the upper side of the clamping member 4, said upper side of the clamping member bein flat and straight throughout. Likewise, t e under side of the presser head 5 is flat and strai ht throughout, so thatjwhen the latter is orced downwardly .upon the bottom of the joint bar, held as shown in Fig. 3, the entire lower portion of said joint bar, as above referred to, is moved downwardly with the result of moving the foot flange b and also the toe member 0 into the die groove 6, thus causing oeasvo a deforming of the foot flange b of the bar. This deformation assumes the character of a bulge or bow which gives to the interior rail flange-receiving recess 6 such form as to provide a well defined clearance for the rail flange, not only at and wholly beyond thev outer edge thereof, but also a top clearance above the upper outer edge portion of the said flange. This clearance bulge or bow f as produced in the press shown in Fig. 3, or equivalent apparatus, is plainly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

In the pressing step above described, no change or alteration in the structural form or .shape of the base section d of the bar is involved, but the whole of this base section is pressed into a rail base engaging position throughout the full length of the bar, thus giving a continuous rail seat or hearing for the bases of the rails from end to end of the joint, as plainly illustrated in- Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. In other Words, as far as thebase section of the bar is concerned, the pressing or equivalent step provides for shifting this base section from its rolled position, viz., parallel to but spaced-a distance from its operative or final working plane, viz., into a rail base engaging posit-ion throughout the length thereof.

I claim:

1. The process of making rail joint bars which consists in subjecting a bar blank to a roll pass to produce an angle-bar splice section having a foot flange, a rail-seating base member and a toe member, with the base member and toe-member disposed in a position parallel to but at a distance from their required final positions, and subsequently forcing the base'member and toe -member into their-required final positions.

2. 'lhe'process of making rail joint bars which consists in subjecting a bar blank to a roll pass to produce an angle bar splice section having a foot flange, and a bottom portion including a rail seating member, with the said rail seating member disposed in a position parallel to, but at a distance from, its'required final position, and subsequently displacing said bottom portion to quently forcing the base member and the toe member into their required final positions,

and thereby deforming the foot flange by displacing itin an upward direction at the outer end thereof.

4:. The process of making rail joint bars which consists in subjecting a bar blank to a roll pass to produce an angle-bar splice section having a bottom portion including a rail-seating base member disposed in a position parallel to but at a distance from its required final position, then shearing the rolled bar to lengths, and finally displacing the entire bottom portion of the joint bar to bring said portion to its final required position.

5. The process of making rail joint bars which consists in subjecting a bar blank to a. roll pass to produce an angle-bar splice section having a foot flange and a bottom portion including a rail-seating base member disposed in a position para lel to but at a distance from its final required position, and finally displacing the entire bottom portion of the joint bar to bring such portion to final finished position, and thereby simultaneously deforming the foot flange by displacing it in an upward direction.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

BENJAMIN WOLHAUPTER.

Witnesses:

PAUL CosTER, J12, K. MCNALLY. 

